It would be entirely fair to assume that this is going to be a miserable Christmas in Caracas. Inflation exceeds 1,000,000 per cent; public services have collapsed to the point where reliable running water is a luxury; and , since 2015, one in ten Venezuelans have given up on the country they love, and left. But step inside the mahogany-panelled El Alazán, one of the city’s to steak restaurants, and you would never know anything at all was amiss. Earlier this month, the manager of the family-owned chain — established in the 1960s before leftist rule came to Venezuela — decided to launch a seasonal promotion: a bottle of Buchanan’s whisky for 22,000 bolivars. At the time (yes, the exchange rate changes significantly by the day), that…

Source: The Times December 23, 2018 18:00 UTC